Friday, October 24, 2014

I have known Mike Watt for many years. I have read most everything he has done and consider his film, The Resurrection Game to be one of my all time favorite films. Movie Outlaw feels like a follow up to his recent volume, Fervid Filmmaking, which does a fine job of taking a string of films from off the beaten path and exposing them to the light of day. Movie Outlaw does the same.
The first thing I do with any book like this is see how many of the movies I've seen.
In this case 17 out of 75.
Not too, bad. Not great, but a fair amount.
And here is the interesting thing;
The one's I haven't seen, with a couple of exceptions, I really have no desire to watch. Maybe I'm just getting too old for this kind of thing, but I watch little TV and film now as it is. Between a forty hour a week job and two new grand babies, time is a premium that I find my self becoming increasingly stingy with.
That and sometimes I'm just too damned tired.
That being said, the book was enjoyable. I learned a lot about films I had little, if any information about. Mike is a great writer about film, you can feel his passion about what he watches. Seeps right off the page.
Now, if I am able to give just a little criticism, one of which, Mike already pointed out.
The spacing between lines made this a beast of a book. My old eyes appreciated all the white space for reading purposes, but he might want to consider changing that.
Finally, I have never seen so many damned footnotes in my whole life.
I read history books for fun and Mike Watt could show those stuffy bastards a thing or three about footnotes.
So. Many. Footnotes.
So, in the end, great book. Great reference guide for a lot of films that don't make it into reference guides.
Can not wait for Volume 2

Monday, October 20, 2014

Twice a year, for many years now, I have attended an event called Cinema Wasteland. You could call it a convention, but I see it more as a reunion of my extended family. People I have met there and see exactly twice a year. Sure, there is Facebook, but it's not the same.
One of the first years I attended I went to a Grindhouse panel led by a man known only as 42nd Street Pete. Being familiar with the output of Alternative Cinema I knew who Pete was. Pete survived 42nd Street and lived to tell the tale.
Now, with those decades of film experience, 42nd Street Pete a.k.a. Pete Chiarella has thrown his fabled fedora in the ring of fiction.
And, oh what a piece of work this is.
See, while I remember when Mad Max first hit the theater, it was the sequel, The Road Warrior that did the most cinematic damage. There were so many post apocalyptic films after that you could fill a warehouse with them.
Now, years later, Pete Chiarella gives us GUNFIGHTERS OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER.
In a future where solar flares have dried up any liquid not stored in plastic or glass, people tend to drink...a lot. The ruler of this little patch of dried earth is the fabled Drunken Master, who is eventually ruined by the notorious El Roacho Rio. El Roacho manages to shoot The Drunken Master's gun hand completely off of his wrist.
Now, The Drunken Master is offering the ultimate bounty to bring El Roacho Rio to frontier justice.
One hundred cases of water.
Now The Blindman and his faithful companion. Dog, trek across the wasteland, meeting friends and foes as they shoot their way across the desert in the hopes of retrieving the ultimate treasure in a world gone dry.
This reminds me so much of the Road Warrior knock offs that showed up in every theater and vdieo store across these United States of ours. Half of them predicting the end of the world over a decade ago. Psychos on motorcycles and death machines. In this sordid tale a group of bikers refuse to give up their machines in a petrol less world and retool their bikes to run on liquor. They run like Hell, but they still manage to get you where you need to go.
At a quick 128 pages, Pete Chiarella manages to tell an intricate, two fisted, blood soaked adventure tale that screams out to be made as a feature and leaves us wanting more.
GUNFIGHTERS OF THE DRUNKEN MASTER makes me no longer wanting for a hooker story from 42nd Street Pete at Cinema Wasteland.
It makes me want to read more adventures of The Blindman.

Monday, October 6, 2014

Another chilly October morning greeted us as my lovely wife and youngest daughter loaded up the car and made our way South to the best convention on the planet; Cinema Wasteland. I was especially excited because I had a new issue of the print zine to give to people there.

This was the second issue of the new format and there was some pretty cool stuff in there. When we arrived we made our way to the convention hall and greeted all of our friends; Ken Kish, Mike and Amy Watt, Pete Chiarella, Bill Zebub, Tom Sullivan and the one and only Henrique Couto. I made sure that they got the issue and some mini comics as well.

ME and the one and only BILL ZEBUB

This time around was more about visiting our extended family than any single event. I was excited to meet director Greydon Clark, but he was a no show because of a back injury, but in true Wasteland fashion, Ken Kish managed to get a panel of effects men led by Tom Sullivan. Along with another pair of effects men, Dean Gates who has done everything from Day of the Dead to Deep Space Nine and Jerami Cruise of Toetag Pictures fame. It was a great panel and I got it on video so it will be up soon.

Other panels I enjoyed was Geretta Geretta of DEMONS fame. She gave a great talk, but cameras being what they are, I didn't get it. My buddy Matthew Skelly might have so we will have to wait and see.

Mink Stole introduced a great 16mm print of Pink Flamingos and did an amazing Q&A afterwards. It was my youngest daughter's first time seeing the film. She liked it.

We watched a film, Revenge of the Spacemen that was a low budget fun fest. Very family friendly for a change and some of the most hilarious lines of dialogue. A full review will follow soon.

The my favorite thing of the weekend. The A. Ghastlee Ghoul's Night At The Movies. There are no movies, just fun and games. Also, another Wasteland Wedding. It was an elaborate affair and a great time. The couple was very sweet, Brandy and Mark. They even had cake! It was very good.

I was invited back to play 42 questions with 42nd Street Pete. Yeah, I won again. Two free passes to next years April show!

I find that the time leading up to the show seems to feel like forever and then, when it's over, it goes by in a flash.

Be sure to catch the April show as it is a Day of the Dead reunion show with the most guests ever from that movie and Jim Wynorski to boot!

Wednesday, October 1, 2014

I remember when they started this title. I bought the first one and said, meh and went on with my life. But then I remembered how much I really like the way that J.M. Dematteis writes and went back to picking it up.
Good choice.
I have always been a Deadman fan and in this issue he is back to life and in the mystical city of Nanda Parbat fighting a monster named Pantheon. Add in an unwanted John Constantine, Zatanna, Night Nurse and Swamp Thing and it is an epic conclusion to an epic storyline.
I know I said I was done with the new DC 52, but this has been good. I have been introduced to Night Nurse who is pretty cool and with her origin explained, even cooler. I like that the JLD hangs out in The House of Mystery. It's like they didn't get the memo that the DC Universe had been changed and they just do what they want.
Now I have to go back and get the trade paperbacks and get caught up.
I thought this epic cover of the supernatural team of the DC Universe would be a great way to kick off October.